Cup holders that are attached to armrests of seats to hold drinks are well known in the art. They may be used in theaters, at various venues including, but not limited to, sporting and concert venues, arenas, auditoriums, in cars and anywhere else that a cup holder may be needed (hereinafter all such venues shall be interchangeably referred to as “venues.”). The cup holders may be permanently or semi-permanently attached to armrests or to a table adjacent to a seat. Cup holders also may vary in shape, diameter and depth.
With the passing of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III requirements, closed captioning (CC) and second language (SAP) features were added to many movies and venue events to provide patrons with hearing impairments the ability to enjoy the programs/movies/entertainment. Closed captioning (CC), for example, displays text for a patron. In a public venue, the text display may be distracting to non-accommodated patrons so that it is preferable that it does not appear on the audience screen nor be displayed in a manner that disturbs patrons adjacent or behind the accommodated patron or disturbs or block their view. Thus, a closed captioning device in intended to be visible to the accommodated patron only.
To comply with mandated ADA requirements, venues must provide captioning devices that take into account the variations in patrons' heights, obstructions of aisle access, obstructions or interferences with the views of other patrons, costs and the ability of a patron to install and adjust the display device. Some display devices are mounted on an adjustable gooseneck or support rod that then must be mounted to the patron's chair and adjusted according to the optimal location for the viewer or attached by some other means.
Since most movie theaters and many venues include cup holders, some close captioning devices use an existing cup holder located in or adjacent to the patron's seat to secure the closed captioning or SAP device. Since some closed captioning display devices are top heavy, a cup holder may lack sufficient stability to support the display device. In addition, cup holders can vary in diameter and depth so that some display devices may not fit into the existing cup holders. In some instances, it may be difficult for a patron to install a closed captioning display device into a venue's cup holder by him/herself.
In order to be ADA compliant in the United States, a mounted closed captioning device must not interfere with the ingress and egress of the patron using the device nor any of the other patrons in the venue should an emergency evacuation of the venue be required.
Further, when a closed captioning device is mounted within an existing cup holder of a patron, that patron will no longer be able to use that cup holder to hold his or her drink. Thus, there is a need for an adaptive cup holder device that can hold a closed captioning device and still provide a cup holder for drinks while still being ADA compliant.
With the advent of more sophisticated food and drink offerings at various venues, there also is need for a cup holder than can hold items in addition to drinks or display devices without having to replace the entire existing cup holder.
The present invention addresses the need of an hearing impaired ADA venue patron by providing a portable, adjustable, self-installable adapter that can securely grip the inside of an existing cup holder which provides both a secure attachment for a closed captioned or SAP device and a new cupholder so that there is no inconvenience to the hearing impaired patron at all caused by the use of the closed captioned or SAP device.